The Four Hills Tournament has been captivating the crowds for over 70 years! in 1953, the ski jumping elite met for the first time in Garmisch-Partenkirchen for the traditional New Year’s competition. Since then, thousands of winter sports enthusiasts have made the pilgrimage every year to the other competitions in Oberstdorf, Innsbruck and the final in Bischofshofen, where Japan’s Ryoyu Kobayashi triumphed in 2024. SnowTrex knows when and what is happening there and now provides details of all the stops on the 2024/25 Four Hills Tournament.
The competitions of the Four Hills Tournament 2024/2025
| Date | Ski resort | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 28.12. - 29.12.2024 | Oberstdorf | Germany |
| 31.12.2024 - 01.01.2025 | Garmisch-Partenkirchen | Germany |
| 03.01. - 04.01.2025 | Innsbruck | Austria |
| 05.01. - 06.01.2025 | Bischofshofen | Austria |
History of the Four Hills Tournament
Since its foundation in 1953, the Four Hills Tournament has developed into one of the most prestigious events in the ski jumping calendar and has established itself as an integral part of the Ski Jumping World Cup to this day. The first competition of the first tour in 1953, in which all four competitions were held in one calendar year for the only time to date, took place on 1 January in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The winner at the time was Asgeir Dølplads from Norway. His compatriot Jakob Vaage achieved the same feat in the very first New Year’s competition in 1922.
In the second edition of the Four Hills Tournament in 1953/54, the order of the venues was changed to Oberstdorf, Garmisch, Innsbruck and Bischofshofen. To this day, this order has remained the same from the start of the tour in the Allgäu to the New Year’s competition, the Bergisel competition and the final on Epiphany Day. Incidentally, the record for the most overall victories has been held by Finland’s Janne Ahonen since 2008 with five overall wins. He is followed by German ski jumping legend Jens Weißflog with four overall victories, and third place in the all-time list is shared by Helmut Recknagel (GDR), Bjørn Wirkola (Norway) and Kamil Stoch (Poland) with three tour victories each. The latter is also one of only three athletes to achieve the feat of winning all four competitions in one edition of the tour. In addition to Stoch (2017/2018), the German Sven Hannawald (2001/2002) – the first ski jumper in history – and the Japanese Ryoyu Kobayashi (2018/2019) also achieved this “Grand Slam”.
Four Hills Tournament opener in Oberstdorf
Hill height: 140 m
Inrun length: 108 m
Hillsize: 137 m
Schattenbergschanze is one of the most important ski jumping hills in the world: since 1987, the facility has hosted the ski jumping competitions of a Nordic World Ski Championships three times (most recently in 2021). This makes the ski jump under the Nebelhornbahn with a hill size (HS) of 137 m one of the five facilities that have been used most frequently for world title competitions, alongside Oslo, Innsbruck, Lahti and Falun. In addition, around 30,000 fans gather here every year when the Four Hills Tournament opens in the Oberstdorf Allgäu World Cup Ski Jumping Arena at the end of December.
It is obvious that the atmosphere is always particularly good in Oberstdorf due to the great anticipation at the opening competition of the Four Hills Tournament.
However, Oberstdorf is not only known for its ski jump, but also as one of Germany’s most important winter sports centres. And so several ski resorts are grouped around the “southernmost spot in Germany”. the two-country ski region of Oberstdorf-Kleinwalsertal has a total of 128 kilometres of pistes. These include the Fellhorn-Kanzelwand, Söllereck, Walmendingerhorn, Ifen and Heuberg Arena ski areas. Incidentally, the Nebelhorn is also home to the longest valley run in Germany with a length of 7.5 kilometres!
New Year’s ski jumping in Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Hill height: 149 m
Inrun length: 103.5 m
Hillsize: 142 m
It is beautiful, elegant and a new landmark of the town: in winter 2007/2008, the modern new construction of the large Olympic ski jump (142 m HS) replaced the previous Olympic ski jump, which had been built in the run-up to the 1936 Olympic Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Around 30,000 spectators flock here every year for the traditional New Year’s ski jump.
There is no competition that ski jumpers want to win more than the world-famous New Year’s competition in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The competitions there usually end in dramatic fashion.
With its location at the foot of Germany’s highest mountain, the Zugspitze (2,962 metres), Garmisch-Partenkirchen is the number one winter sports resort in Germany. In addition to the Four Hills Tournament, the Winter Olympics and the Alpine World Ski Championships have also been held here. Winter sports enthusiasts can choose between the glacier ski area on the Zugspitze and the “Garmisch-Classic” ski area, which is spread over the Hausberg, Kreuzeck and Alpspitze. A highlight: the legendary Kandahar descent on the Kreuzeck.
Four Hills Tournament in Innsbruck
Hill height: 134 m
Inrun length: 91.3 m
Hillsize: 128 m
With its futuristic inrun tower designed by British star architect Zaha Hadid, the Bergisel ski jump in Innsbruck, with a hill size of 128 m the smallest jumping facility in the Four Hills Tournament, has become even more of an eye-catcher since its modernisation in 2002. A special feature of the ski jump is its location on the outskirts of the Alpine metropolis. Due to its proximity to the city centre, it offers a wonderful panoramic view of the city and the surrounding mountains.
Innsbruck is also known as the “Capital of the Alps”. The metropolis is the only city in the world to have hosted the Winter Olympics three times (1964, 1976 and the 2012 Youth Games). Nine ski areas make up the Olympia SkiWorld Innsbruck. They can all be reached quickly from Innsbruck using the free ski bus. The Nordkettenbahnen and the Patscherkofel with the Olympic men’s downhill piste are right next to the city. There is also Axamer Lizum, Muttereralm, Kühtai, Rangger Köpfl, Glungezer, Schlick 2000 and the Stubai Glacier, Austria’s largest glacier ski area.
Epiphany ski jumping in Bischofshofen
Hill height: 132.5 m
Inrun length: 118.5 m
Hillsize: 142 m
The Paul-Außerleitner-Schanze (142 m HS) is named after the Austrian ski jumper who crashed so badly here in 1952 that he succumbed to his injuries a few days later. It is one of the largest ski jumps in the Ski Jumping World Cup.
At the end of the Four Hills Tournament in Bischofshofen, the overall winners set new records time and time again
Bischofshofen, the “town with momentum”, lies at the centre of the Ski amadé world. It is only a few kilometres to St. Johann/Alpendorf and Mühlbach am Hochkönig. In good snow conditions, you can even ski as far as Bischofshofen on the eight-kilometre-long “Knappensteig” ski tour descent. Flachau and Grossarl are not far away either.
Record winner of the Four Hills Tournament
| Overall Wins | Name | Nationality | Tournaments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Janne Ahonen | Finland | 1998/99 2002/03 2004/05 2005/06 2007/08 |
| 4 | Jens Weißflog | GDR/FRG | 1983/84 1984/85 1990/91 1995/96 |
| 3 | Helmut Recknagel | GDR | 1957/58 1958/59 1960/61 |
| 3 | Bjørn Wirkola | Norway | 1966/67 1967/68 1968/69 |
| 2 | Kamil Stoch | Poland | 2016/17 2017/18 2020/21 |
| 2 | Ryōyū Kobayashi | Japan | 2018/19 2021/22 2023/24 |
| 2 | Veikko Kankkonen | Finland | 1963/64 1965/66 |
| 2 | Jochen Danneberg | GDR | 1975/76 1976/77 |
| 2 | Hubert Neuper | Austria | 1979/80 1980/81 |
| 2 | Matti Nykänen | Finland | 1982/83 1987/88 |
| 2 | Ernst Vettori | Austria | 1985/86 1986/87 |
| 2 | Andreas Goldberger | Austria | 1992/93 1994/95 |
| 1 | Gregor Schlierenzauer | Austria | 2011/12 2012/13 |
Overall winner of the Four Hills Tournament from Germany
| Name | Number of overall victories | Year | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jens Weißflog | 4 | 1983/84, 1984/85, 1990/91, 1995/96 | GDR and Germany |
| Helmut Recknagel | 3 | 1957/58, 1958/59, 1960/61 | GDR |
| Jochen Danneberg | 2 | 1975/76, 1976/77 | GDR |
| Sven Hannawald | 1 | 2001/02 | Germany |
| Dieter Thoma | 1 | 1989/90 | Germany |
| Manfred Deckert | 1 | 1981/82 | GDR |
| Hans-Georg Aschenbach | 1 | 1973/74 | GDR |
| Rainer Schmidt | 1 | 1972/73 | GDR |
| Horst Queck | 1 | 1969/70 | GDR |
| Max Bolkart | 1 | 1959/60 | Germany |
The list of overall German winners of the Four Hills Tournament is long. If you include the winners from the period of German division, ski jumpers from the GDR and West Germany have won the prestigious competition series a total of 16 times since the first tour in 1953. This puts Germany, together with Austria and Finland, in first place among the countries with the most tour victories (as of 13 November 2023). The first German overall winner of the Four Hills Tournament was Max Bolkert in 1960.
His compatriots Horst Queck (1970), Rainer Schmidt (1973), Hans-Georg Aschenbach (1974) and Manfred Deckert (1982 – all GDR) as well as Dieter Thoma (1990) and Sven Hannawald (2002 – both Germany) have also finished in first place in the overall standings after the final competition in Bischofshofen. Jochen Danneberg (GDR) won the Four Hills Tournament twice in a row in 1976 and 1977. Helmut Recknagel did the same in 1958 and 1959, before celebrating his third and final overall victory in 1961. The German record winner with four tour victories, on the other hand, is ski jumping legend Jens Weißflog, who won for the GDR in 1984 and 1985 and stood at the top of the tour podium after reunification in 1991 and 1996.
FAQ about the Four Hills Tournament
When will the Four Hills Tournament 2024/2025 take place?
The Four Hills Tournament 2024/2025 begins with the qualification in Obersdorf on 28 December 2024, with the first competition jumping on the Schattenbergschanze taking place there one day later. The second stop is the New Year’s competition in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on 1 January 2024, before continuing in Innsbruck on 4 January and the final on 6 January in Bischofshofen.
Who is the record winner of the Four Hills Tournament?
In the history of the Four Hills Tournament, one name stands out in particular: Janne Ahonen. The Finn has won the prestigious competition series a total of five times (1998/99, 2002/03, 2004/05, 2005/06 and 2007/08). The record winner is followed by German ski jumping legend Jens Weißflog with four overall victories (1983/84, 1984/84, 1991/92 and 1995/96). He is followed by Helmut Recknagel (GDR), Bjørn Wirkola (Norway), Kamil Stoch (Poland) and Ryoyu Kobayashi (Japan) with three triumphs each.
Will the Four Hills Tournament be televised?
Yes, in Germany the public broadcasters ARD and ZDF alternately broadcast all the competitions of the Four Hills Tournament live and in full length, including the qualification the day before. Eurosport also broadcasts all four competitions, albeit with commercial breaks.
When did the first Four Hills Tournament take place?
The Four Hills Tournament took place for the first time in 1953 and is still the only event to be held within one calendar year. On 1 January 1953, the New Year’s competition was held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, followed by competitions in Oberstdorf, Innsbruck and Bischofshofen.
Where does the traditional New Year’s competition of the Four Hills Tournament take place?
As the name suggests, the New Year’s competition takes place every year on 1 January on the large Olympic ski jump in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It was part of the Four Hills Tournament for the first time in 1953, but the first New Year’s competition was held here in 1922 and was won by the Norwegian Jakob Vaage. The record winner, however, is the German Martin Neuner, who triumphed five times in a row in Garmisch between 1924 and 1928.
